And this one: Nibbana - By Bikkhu BodhiThe Buddha says that he teaches only Dukkha and the cessation of Dukkha, that is, suffering and the end of suffering. The First Noble Truth deals with the problem of suffering. However, the truth of suffering is not the final word of the Buddha's teaching. It is only the starting point. The Buddha starts with suffering, because his teaching is designed for a particular end: it is designed to lead to liberation. In order to do this he must give us a reason for seeking liberation. If a man does not know that his house is on fire, he lives there enjoying himself, playing and laughing. To get him to come out we first have to make him understand that his house is on fire. In the same way the Buddha announces that our lives are burning with old age, sickness and death. Our minds are flaming with greed, hatred and delusion. It is only when we become aware of the peril that we are ready to seek a way to release.

In the Second Noble Truth, he points out that the principal cause of suffering is craving, the desire for a world of sights, sounds , smells, tastes, touch sensations and ideas. Since the cause of Dukkha is craving, the key to reaching the end of Dukkha is to eliminate craving. Therefore the Buddha explains the Third Noble Truth as the extinction of craving.

Pages:Psychological Dimension of NibbanaPhilosophical Dimension of NibbanaNibbana is an existing realityIs Nibbana conditioned by its pathIs Nibbana mere annihilation ?The story of the Turtle and the FishTwo elements of NibbanaExperience of an ArahantState of an Arahant after passing awayMind Stilled http://www.beyondthenet.net/dhamma/nibbana.html

mettaChris

---The trouble is that you think you have time------Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe------It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---

My understanding is that the Buddha taught it is both. In MN 38, the Buddha states that three things are need for conception, and consequently, birth (which is defined in MN 141 as the "appearance of aggregates"): (1) the union of the mother and father, (2) the mother is in season and (3) the presence of the gandhabba (i.e., the consciousness of the unborn being). The Buddha makes it clear in SN 44.9 that craving is what makes this process possible. As for Nibbana, it is portrayed as the cessation of clinging in regard to the aggregates, as well as liberation from samsara, the continual round of birth and death. Whether or not you interpret this to mean literal birth and death is up to you.